In the end the competitive instincts of players knowing they were up against arch-rivals conspired to produce an absorbing, dramatic and tense Carling Currie Cup semifinal in Pretoria, and down road in Johannesburg in the earlier game a try fest delivered the anticipated spectacle.
The upshot is that the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV will travel to Emirates Airlines Park to face the Fidelity ADT Lions in a match up sequence in the domestic decider that started when Natal edged out Transvaal by one point in Johannesburg in 1992.
Whether or not the finalists were entirely expected depends probably on what chance you gave the Sharks XV of upsetting expectations at Loftus, where the Vodacom Bulls started as strong favourites and should really have nailed down the result when they were 15 against 12 for much of the last 10 minutes of normal time.
The Lions were even stronger favourites against the Toyota Cheetahs but had to dig deep to secure their anticipated passage into a home final. Not nearly as deep though as the Sharks did on a day where the commitment shown by the Durbanites again advertised the culture change that has happened at that franchise/union.
GOING 100 MINUTES IN A PRE-SEASON GAME IS CRAZY
The last thing any of the coaches involved in the looming Vodacom United Rugby Championship, for which these final stages of the Currie Cup are a preparation stepping stone, would have wanted was to the see the game go to extra time. For many of the players it was a pre-season fixture, only their second since coming back from their break, and who goes 100 minutes in a pre-season fixture?
Well it turns out on this occasion someone like Andre Esterhuizen does, because he had to, and his coach John Plumtree quite understandably didn’t quite know what to think about that afterwards.
“The next 48 hours for us are going to be crucial, we are going to have to do the right things tomorrow (in terms of recovery),” said Plumtree at Loftus on Saturday night.
“The good thing is that we are coming to a final at altitude and having played 100 minutes here that might set us up. But Andre (Esterhuizen) was going to play 50 minutes this week, and 50 next week but has now gone 100 minutes.”
Unbelievable scenes at Loftus Versfeld 😲
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 14, 2024
The Hollywoodbets Sharks defy the odds to reach the 2024 #CarlingCurrieCup final 🦈🏉
This match is a must-see if you missed it 🍿 pic.twitter.com/7yZOWt2oeH
RED CARD MOVE REQUIRED A PHONE CALL
Esterhuizen was forced to play the whole game because of the red card to his midfield partner in the second half. The Sharks were eventually able to return to the 15 men due to the 20 minute red card trial in operation in South Africa, but it required much talk on the sidelines and a call from Plumtree to a referee adviser in Durban for that change to be made.
“There was a lot of talk on the touchlines and there wasn’t any clarity so we phoned the referee in Durban who advises us and he informed us that we could replace the red carded player. We don’t blame the referee (for the confusion) but the officials on the sideline need to be better than that.”
In the end the spectacular late Trevor Nyakane try and successful Lionel Cronje conversion levelled the scores with minutes of normal time left and after a last gasp match winning penalty attempt from recent former Sharks player Boeta Chamberlain fell short, the Sharks advanced because they’d scored more tries in the game.
LIONS WEREN’T THEIR BEST
They will meet a Lions team in Saturday’s final in Johannesburg that by their own admission produced one of their sloppier performances of the season in a game where there was lots of great attacking play but some at times quite questionable defence.
Currie Cup finalist for 2024, see you at the Park next Saturday. #LIOvCHE#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/24Rjb7i060
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) September 14, 2024
The Lions have been the form team in the domestic competition this season, particularly since the Bulls started stumbling, and will start as favourites, but a lot is going to depend this week how the respective camps respond to the challenge that is implicit in the Currie Cup decider falling just seven days before both the franchise sides start a tough URC campaign.
The South African sides were actually supposed to be starting the URC this coming weekend, with the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls apparently all happy for that to happen, but the Lions drove a change to the schedule, with the scheduled derbies for the coming weekend now happening sometime in February.
GETTING THROUGH NOT IDEAL FOR SHARKS
Ironically, the Sharks were due to play the Lions in Durban in their opening URC game, and are now playing the same opponents in a domestic decider, with Plumtree continuing on Saturday night with his theme of there being some positives but also a lot of negatives to his team getting through.
“The reward for losing today would have been a week and time for us to prepare for our URC tour. We leave for our first game against Connacht in Galway on the Monday after the final,” said Plumtree.
“Now that we have won, we don’t get that reward. But playing in a final is something the boys will cherish, you cherish every final you play in. So we will build accordingly through the week, we will just have to make a plan around our well being (and readiness for Connacht).
“Our plan in the Currie Cup season was always that it would be an opportunity for the youngsters and the URC guys would rest. Like us, the Bulls were using this game as a pre-season game. Ultimately at the end of the day it would be great to win a trophy, but we also have to prepare ourselves for a massive season. The risk of a Currie Cup final is injuries, so there are pluses and minuses.
“The ideal preparation for us for the URC would be to go home now and prepare for our tour. But as I last week, we respect the Currie Cup,” added the Sharks coach.
RETHINK NEEDED ON TIMING OF COMPETITION
It is unfortunate that Plumtree keeps having to say that, for he is clearly torn between his commitment to prepare as best he can for the URC, which is now the clear priority of the organisation he works for, and at the same time he has a sense of duty to ensure his team has the best possible chance of winning the Currie Cup seeing they’ve got this far.
Hopefully the organisers of the South African fixture lists won’t repeat the mistake of playing the Currie Cup in this window, but for now there is a difficult balancing act that the coaches of both finalists have to deal with. Once the URC starts, the teams will face five tough games in succession, with the Sharks starting out on tour but the Lions starting at home with a tough but potentially crucial game against Ulster.
Do the Lions want to compromise their chances of winning that game by going full out in the Currie Cup final? It is a choice they will have to make. And ditto the Sharks, who know that Connacht away is no easy opening game. Meanwhile the Bulls, who saw two potentially winning kicks fail at the end of normal and extra time respectively, might feel they’ve dodged a bullet.
Carling Currie Cup semi-final results
Fidelity ADT Lions 43 Toyota Cheetahs 34
Vodacom Bulls 40 Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 40 (after extra time, 33-all after normal time)
Sharks XV advance because they scored more tries.
Carling Currie Cup final
Fidelity ADT Lions v Hollywoodbets Sharks XV (Emirates Airlines Park, Saturday 16.00)